FORECAST TRACKS FROM THE VARIOUS MODELS COMING UP IN A FEW MINUTES. THANK YOU, JOHN. BECAUSE OF ARTHUR, LIFEGUARDS ARE TELLING US THE WATERS ARE GETTING MORE DANGEROUS. STILL, THE BEACHES ARE BUSY MORE AND MORE BUT THERE ARE LARGER THAN NORMAL AND THE RIP CURRENTS ARE DANGEROUS OUT THERE. VIC MICOLUCCI IS JOINING US WITH MORE. HE'S BEEN A GORGEOUS DAY OUT HERE. LIFEGUARDS SAY DON'T BE FOOLED BECAUSE THE WATERS ARE ACTUALLY VERY DANGEROUS, EVEN RIGHT NOW WITHOUT ANY WINDS OR RAINS IN THE AREA. THEY SAY THERE ARE RIP CURRENTS, THAT THEY'RE ALREADY EXPERIENCING. THEY HAD TO RESCUE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TODAY NEAR THE PIER AND THEY SAY CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY TO GET WORSE. THE WAVES ARE GETTING BIGGER, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, POUNDING THE COAST. AS SOON AS YOU GO UNDER, ONE OF THE BIG WAVES, IT FELT LIKE IT WOULD TAKE YOU UNDER. LIFEGUARDS SAY THE ROUGHER THAN USUAL WATERS ARE FILLED WITH RIP CURRENTS, STRONG STREAMS OF WATER THAT CAN PULL SWIMMERS AWAY FROM THE BEACH QUITE QUICKLY. WE SPOTTED SEVERAL TODAY BUT THEY'RE KIND OF HARD TO SEE, SO THIS NOAA SIMULATION HELPS SHOW HOW IT WORKS. WE'VE HAD TWO OR THREE RESCUES BECAUSE OF RIP CURRENTS, LOCALIZED AT THE PIER. JACKSONVILLE LIFEGUARDS ARE ASKING SWIMMERS TO STAY AWAY. ACROSS THE NATION RIP CURRENTS KILL ON AVERAGE 100 PEOPLE A YEAR. RESEARCHERS SAY THEY'RE MUCH MORE DEADLY THAN SHARK ATTACKS AND LIGHTNING STRIKES COMBINED AND ACCOUNT FOR 80% OF BEACH RESCUES. THEY'RE MOST DANGEROUS IN HURRICANE SEASON. OCEAN RESCUERS ALL UP AND DOWN FLORIDA'S EAST COAST ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONDITIONS THAT TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR IS BRINGING. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT. AGAIN, WE FEEL LIKE A BROKEN RECORD BUT, REALLY, LISTEN TO THE LIFEGUARDS. THEY'RE TRAINED TO STAKE OUT THESE SORTS OF THINGS. IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT, SWIM PARALLEL TO THE SHORE. THEY'RE STRONG BUT NOT THAT WIDE. YOU CAN GET OUT AFTER A FEW DOZEN YARDS. IT'S IMPORTANT TO PAY ATTENTION AND DON'T PANIC. YOU CAN GET CARRIED AWAY WITH THE UNDERCURRENTS AND FEEL MORE CONFIDENT THAN YOU ARE, BECAUSE IT HAPPENS QUICK. LIFEGUARDS SAY FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD AND HEEDING THEIR WARNINGS, STAYING WAIST-DEEP IN THE WATER, SWIMMING WITH A BUDDY AND NEAR THE LIFEGUARD STANDS OR TOWERS. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY WHAT RESCUERS RECOMMEND HERE. AT 6:00, I'M GOING OUT IN THE WATER WITH ONE OF THE LIEUTENANTS WITH THE JACKSONVILLE BEACH FIRE RESCUE. I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO SURVIVE A RIP CURRENT, ALL NEW AT 6:00. REPORTING LIVE AT JACKSONVILLE BEACH, VIC MICOLUCCI, CHANNEL 4, THE LOCAL STATION. IT LOOKS GORGEOUS OUT THERE. THE FOURTH OF JULY BRINGS PLENTY OF PEOPLE FROM OUT OF OUR AREA, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT USED TO THIS DANGER THIS TIME OF YEAR. ANY TALK OF CLOSING THE BEACHES TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE? NO, I'VE TALKED TO THE LIFEGUARDS IN JACKSONVILLE BEACH AND NEPTUNE BEACH. THEY'RE KEEPING PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE PIER BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MORE DANGEROUS AREAS, TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE CLOSER TO THE SHORES BUT RIGHT NOW, THE BEACHES ARE GOING TO BE OPEN. WE'RE IN FLORIDA. WE'RE USED TO THIS. THIS IS NOTHING THEY DON'T SEE EVERY YEAR AND SURFERS ENJOY IT.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

With Tropical Storm Arthur the first named storm of the year, News4Jax checked in with area emergency operations centers Tuesday to see what they are doing.

All northeast Florida centers are monitoring the storm, but so far none of the EOCs have been activated.

EOC staff in Jacksonville said they've been talking to state officials, getting a handle on what could happen. They said now is the time to review since they changed evacuation zones. They're not based on flooding and not on the category of a storm.

With Arthur, officials want residents to be aware.

The waters don't look threatening. In fact, they look inviting. And that is the concern for local officials, who want to make sure people take the storm seriously, even though the impact on land could be minimal.

Across the nation, rip currents kill, on average, 100 people a year. Researchers say they're much deadlier than shark attacks and lightning strikes and account for 80 percent of beach rescues. They're most dangerous in hurricane season.

"We have been monitoring the particular weather system for several days," said Steven Woodard, of Duval EOC. "We have been in close communications with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville and the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and in communications with the state emergency center."

On Tuesday in St. Johns County, there were state crews doing maintenance on storm drains along State Road A1A. It's one way to try to hold back flooding should storm surge become an issue.

"Right now we're predicting about 1.5 inches of rain over five days," said Linda Stoughton, of St. Johns County EOC. "We could have some isolated severe bands with isolated thunderstorms. But I think what we're looking at is a coastal event with rip currents."

While that may not sound like much, News4Jax chief meteorologist John Gaughan said some of those bands could stall and create some heavy rains and flooding in localized areas.

With the Fourth of July approaching, that rains could have an affect on crews that would be called in should the storm change course. But it's something staff in St. Johns County plans for.

"We would call people back," Stoughton said. "But one of the capabilities of the EOC, we have to be able to activate in one hour."

In Jacksonville, JEA is standing by just in case power outages become an issue.

"Doesn't look like the storm is going to affect us very much," JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said. "if there are power outages, make sure you stay safe by using flashlights not candles. Make sure you have plenty of water and don't forget your little furry friends they are important, too."

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